The Umbrella Organisation

May the power of the brolly live on!

The Maggie's London Night Hike was on Friday 16 September and I managed to successfully complete the 10 mile event (there was a 20 mile event running too, but there was no way in hell I was attempting that!). I will post photos of my t shirt and my medal later this week.

We started at Leadenhall Market, the key stops along the way were City Hall (1.1 miles), the Southbank Centre (3.5 miles), and the Royal Geographical Society (6.6 miles), and we finished at the Maggie's London Centre (10 miles), based in Charing Cross Hospital on the Fulham Palace Road.

Key things for me:

- I started at 8.15pm- I was walking on my own, but fell in with a range of different walkers and groups of walkers along the course of the route - everyone was really friendly and welcoming- The view from the top of City Hall at night was breathtaking. We also had a Gospel choir singing there, which was really uplifting and inspiring- I stopped at the National Theatre (where else?) for far too long! The National was not an official Maggie's stop. However, I got to the National and couldn't resist going in - I did the same on my Walk for Life. I had only intended to stay for 5 or 10 mins but then I met a friend there and we got chatting, then One Man, Two Guvnors broke up and the place had a real buzz about it, and then I couldn't tear myself away! As a result, I got to Big Ben by Westminster Bridge at 11pm and thought "why has it taken me so long to get here?" and then thought - "oh yes, because I stopped for 45 mins at the National!".- Walking across and through London at night was magical and very atmospheric. Especially the walk past Buckingham Palace and along by Hyde Park- Along the route we passed a number of cinemas, all of which were showing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy! As you can imagine, this spurred me on!- One of our com members has a very close relative who is currently using a Maggie's centre and I was thinking about him on the walk. The people I knew affected by cancer have sadly long since passed away and I would much rather walk for someone who is alive and fighting cancer now, rather than in memory of those who passed away many years ago. - My main hindrance was the fact that I had been to a conference for the day. I had in my rucksack a bumper crop of free literature that I had picked up for my friends and former colleagues. That was all well and good, but it weighed a ton! I had to offload at least half of it at the National because I decided that there was no way I could carry all of it around 10 miles. However, I dutifully carried the other half around the full 10 miles breaking my back in the process. So for those of you receiving this free literature - I hope you appreciate the pain and suffering I had to endure to bring it to you! So it was not so much the distance that was a problem (there was no issue with that) it was the weight of all the paper I was carrying around with me!- I finished at 2am, slightly later than planned due, as I said, to a completely unnecssary and unplanned stop at the National!

However, I went home a happy bunny. The Walk for Life was one thing that I did this year that I can be proud of. This is another.

Information about Maggie'sMaggie's runs cancer caring centres. Maggie's is about empowering people to live with, through and beyond cancer by bringing together professional help, communities of support and building design to create exceptional centres for cancer care.

Well done indeed, and thank you for carrying thoughts of my brother-in-law with you along with everything else. He had his op and has recovered reasonably well over the weekend. We hope that this op has cut out the cancer and will be all the treatment necessary. Fingers crossed.

Yes it was your brother-in-law that I ultimately decided to dedicate my walk to - he was the obvious choice as he is actually using a Maggie's Centre. I am sending good wishes his way for a speedy recovery.